New York, NY — June 30, 2009 Bart Yasso, Runner’s World Chief Running Officer, heads to the Middle East on July 6th as part of The Warrior Tours: “America’s Races Salutes the Troops” (www.thewarriortours.com). Over the course of seven days, “The America’s Races Salutes the Troops” will visit seven U.S. military bases in the Middle East supporting the troops in the semi-annual Armed Forces Physical Fitness Test.

“When I got the go ahead for this project, Bart was the first person I called to come along,” said Rob Powers, America’s Voice of Running and founder of The Warrior Tours. “Bart is one of the best known names in running, has military ties, and is an amazing motivator. Who better to take along to support our troops?”

“My dad served in the Navy during World War II on the USS Oklahoma City, and to have the opportunity to tie my love for running with my family’s history, and support our troops is very special,” said Yasso.

At each base, “The America’s Races Salutes the Troops” will produce world-class running events including evening entertainment, professional digital tag timing, announcing, and race T-shirts and awards donated by more than thirty of the top running events around the United States. Competitors will be given a race T-shirt (from the race closest to their hometown), a finish medal, and have their results posted the day of the race on The Warrior Tours web site (www.thewarriortours.com).

Along with Powers and Yasso, other special guests on the tour include NASA astronaut Sandar Magnus, Olympic gold medalist and Runner’s World contributor Frank Shorter, UnderArmour’s (www.underarmour.com) Senior Manager of RUN Anne Bonney, and 2009 Armed Forces Entertainers of the year Catchpenny.
Yasso, author of the best-selling book, “My Life on the Run,” is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antarctica marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon. The Warrior Tours will be the first time he will race in a live combat zone.

Yasso may be best known for the marathon-training workout he invented, Yasso 800s, used by thousands of runners across the globe. He joined Runner’s World in 1987 to develop the Runner’s World Race Sponsorship Program, creating a vehicle for Runner’s World to work with over 7,000 races representing 4 million runners every year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions.

About The Warrior Tours
The Warrior Tours, a pending 501(C)(3) nonprofit, connects the men and women of the US Armed Forces with the American people through physical fitness by teaming up stateside events with The Warrior Tours events at US military bases worldwide. While supporting the troops in their fitness programs The Warrior Tours connects US service men and women with their friends and families through video, text, and images that are posted on The Warrior Tours website and broadcast at domestic sporting events. More information at www.thewarriortours.com

About Runner’s World
Recognized as the worldwide authority on running information, the mission of Rodale’s Runner’s World is to inform, advise, and motivate runners of all ages and abilities. Runner’s World aims to help runners achieve their personal health, fitness, and performance goals, and to inspire them with vivid, memorable storytelling. Currently Runner’s World publishes 14 international editions. Runner’s World‘s award-winning companion Web site, www.runnersworld.com, is the largest running community on the Internet, featuring interactive, searchable, and targeted content for runners of all ages and abilities.